The hospital that held up Spain's $11 billion devolution
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The Marques de Valdecilla hospital, in Santander, northern Spain, was effectively the last hurdle in completing Spain's historic devolution of healthcare from the national healthcare institute Insalud to the 10 regions that had remained under central control since the mid-1990s (see Clinica No 990, pp 1-2). Negotiations between the Cantabrian regional health authorities (SCS) and the government over the financing of the hospital held up the multibillion dollar process and resulted in an eleventh-hour showdown when, after being railroaded through parliament, full devolution had been a foregone conclusion.